Irish Association for Russian, Central and East European Studies

17/06/2026

The second keynote by Anna Kłonkowska (University of Gdańsk), “Changing Attitudes to Gender Transition: The Case of Poland”, reflects on changing attitudes towards gender transition since the collapse of communism in 1989, presenting the case of Poland in the context of the region.

Anna M. Kłonkowska is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Gdansk. She is a sociologist, psychologist and philosopher. She has authored numerous publications in the field of transgender studies, coordinated and co-translated into Polish the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care. She has founded and facilitated for over 10 years a support group for transgender and gender diverse persons. Anna Kłonkowska is a recipient of the Chair in Transgender Studies Research Fellowship at the Transgender Archives, University of Victoria, the Fulbright Foundation Senior Research Award, NAWA Bekker Program Research Award, Kosciuszko Foundation Fellowship, Bednarowski Trust Fellowship, and DAAD Fellowship.

16/06/2026

After an afternoon of presentations on the ideological conversions and religious repressions within the early Soviet Union, we welcome our first keynote by James Kapaló, a professor in the Department of the Study of Religions at the University of Cork.

The lecture, "Resilient Religioscapes: Coerced Conversion and the Transformation of Space in Communist and Post-communist Eastern Europe," explores the relationship between processes of forced conversion and confessional dissolution during the decades of communist rule and their impact on the religious landscape of the region.

Professor Kapaló’s research has primarily focused on the history and experience of religious and ethnic minorities in East Central Europe, especially Hungary, Romania and Moldova, and is informed by the diverse fields of anthropology, history, folklore and transitional justice. He pays particular attention to the critical role of gender in the dynamics of religious change in the twentieth century and the creative agency of religious communities that have experienced state-sponsored repression and terror.

From September 2016 to 2021, he was Principal Investigator of the European Research Council Project Creative Agency and Religious Minorities: Hidden Galleries in the Secret Police Archives in Central and Eastern Europe (ERC project no. 677355), a four year project that explored the significance of the visual and material presence of religious minorities in the secret police archives in Hungary, Romania and the Republic of Moldova. His most recent book, co-authored with Kinga Povedák, is The Secret Police and the Religious Underground in Communist and Post-Communist Eastern Europe (2021).

16/06/2026

We are kicking off the two-day conference on the theme of Conversions, religious, national, ideological and sexual. The morning panels are looking mostly at the narratives of the 19th and 20th century religious conversions, with speakers representing universities in the UK, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Italy

The conference is held in conjunction with the Centre for the Study of Religion and the Centre for the Investigation of Transnational Encounters and supported by the School of History and Philosophy at the University of Galway

16/06/2026

!!! Call for Submissions: CEU Press Series on “Memory, Heritage and Public History in Central and Eastern Europe”

Lavinia Stan, St. Francis Xavier University (Canada), former SRS President is one of the Series’ Editors together with Barbara Törnquist-Plewa, Lund University, Sweden and Violeta Davoliūtė, Vilnius University, Lithuania.

Editorial Board
Stefan Berger, Ruhr University
Constantin Iordachi, Central European University
Wulf Kansteiner, Aarhus University
Siobhan Kattago, University of Tartu
Daniela Koleva, Sofia University
Krzysztof Kowalski, Jagellonian University
Katerina Kralova, Charles University
Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia
Balázs Trencsényi, Central European University
Jenny Wustenberg, Nottingham University

Link: https://www.aup.nl/en/series/memory-heritage-and-public-history-in-central-and-eastern-europe-ceu-press

04/03/2026

Sarah Smyth (1956-2026)

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Sarah Smyth, former Head of the Russian Department and School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies at Trinity College Dublin, and a true friend, mentor and colleague to so many.

A person of huge integrity, vision and wisdom, yet also of kindness and compassion, Sarah's name has been synonymous with the promotion of the study of Slavonic languages and cultures in Ireland, in higher education but also, through the Post-Primary Languages Initiative and other public bodies, in secondary schools.

She is author of the textbook Rus' which is still used with the undergraduate students at TCD, and has written very insightfully about Russian language pedagogy. Between 2008-2011, she led a large IRCHSS funded sociolinguistic research project titled "Our languages" into the cultural and linguistic diversity of Russian speakers in Ireland.

Amongst her many other achievements are the setting up of the Centre for Literary Translation at TCD in 2013 and securing their permanent base in Fenian St in 2016, which was launched with a truly memorable evening of poetry and song from all corners of the world.

Sarah was also a longtime member and supporter of IARCEES and organised the 2011 annual conference on the theme of "The collapse of the Soviet Union: 20 years on".

In recognition of her achievements, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Gorky Literary Institute (Moscow, 2002) and a Pushkin medal (2010), the first Irish person to receive this prestigious award. In being so honoured, she joins the late Prof Marcus Wheeler, former Professor of Russian at Queen's University and IARCEES founding member, for whom the IARCEES bursary for early-career researchers is named.

Our thoughts are with Sarah's family. May she rest in peace.

Death notice in the Irish Times: https://notices.irishtimes.com/death/smyth-sarah/62251584

12/01/2026

Call for papers for the annual conference on the topic of 'Conversions in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe since 1800: Religious, Ideological, National, and Sexual' to be held in Galway on Tues.-Wed., 16-17 June.
Deadline: Friday, 20 February.

10/12/2025

A lecture by Svitlana Matviyenko (Simon Fraser University) organised by the Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities, the Trinity Centre for Resistance Studies and the Trinity Long Room Hub.

05/12/2025

Call for applications
IARCEES Marcus Wheeler Bursary

In recognition of the widespread financial precarity of early career researchers and with the aim to grow the community of scholars of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia based on the island of Ireland, IARCEES has launched a support scheme to provide financial contributions to eligible research expenses - the Marcus Wheeler Bursary. The award is named after Marcus Wheeler, formerly a Professor of Slavonic Studies in QUB, a distinguished scholar, author of the Oxford Russian–English dictionary and a founding member of the IARCEES. The award is partially funded by a generous donation from lifelong association member Professor Ronald Hill. The Marcus Wheeler Bursary will contribute to the costs of any research-related activity within the geographic and thematic scope of the IARCEES: the study of the languages and cultures of the former Soviet Union and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Eligibility
Full-time or part-time graduate and post-graduate research students, post-doctoral researchers, scholars in precarious employment (contract of three years or less), or scholars without current academic affiliation who wish to remain research active, who are either based on the island of Ireland or are affiliated with an Irish research institution. Applicants do not need to be members of the Association at the time of the application. They will automatically become members for 2026 if they are offered an award.

Amount
Up to three bursaries of €500 will be awarded in the January 2026 call.

Eligible expenses
The bursary will be paid upfront based on the proposed expenses. Any unused amount will be returned to the Association. Any research-related expenses are eligible, including but not limited to:
● Travel (including visa) costs & accommodation expenses while travelling for research, fieldwork or dissemination of research results (conferences and workshops) in Ireland or abroad
● Conference registration costs (conference attendance without presenting is not eligible)
● Cost of access to research facilities (archives, libraries, etc.)
● Cost of copies of relevant materials
● Copyright costs for images for academic peer-reviewed publications
● Childcare or other care-related costs when necessary to facilitate research
● Cost of hardware or software essential to conduct research (e.g., recording devices for interviews)
Membership fees for professional associations are not eligible expenses.
Evaluation criteria
● Quality of the proposed research
● Value for money
● Impact on scholar’s research activity/ career progression

How to apply
Applicants should fill in the form and provide supporting documentation (when necessary) by 20 January 2026

Link to the form:
https://forms.gle/ZSNWVkpNuTttwC4h8
Decisions on funding will be made by a panel of association committee members. Panel’s decision on funding or not is final. The recipients of the award will be informed of the outcome in late February 2026.

The bursary should be spent before 31 October 2026. A short report of 300 words should be submitted to IARCEES by 30 November 2026 outlining how the award was used and how it contributed to the research/ career development efforts together with the proof of expenses.

For questions and queries, contact Dr Aneta Stepien, [email protected]

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